Spanish Town,
Jamaica – March 6, 2013 - Close to the end of January 2013, a group
of students from St. Joseph Academy (SJA) in the United States joined
Food For The Poor (FFP) Jamaica for a mission trip and got a glimpse
of the poor living conditions of a widowed father of seven from
Gregory Park in St. Catherine. Determined to make a difference,
19 juniors and seniors from the institution returned to the community
recently not just for a casual visit but to construct a two-bedroom
home for the family.
Last Wednesday, Feb 27, the team of
students and four chaperones, with hammers, paint and paint brushes
in hand, worked assiduously alongside FFP contractors to build and
paint the home, which included sanitation facilities.
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| Students from the St. Joseph Academy, United States, and team members of Food For The Poor (FFP) Jamaica engaged in the construction of a two-bedroom house for 44-year-old widowed father, Leslie Lewis and his seven young children. The house-building project took place on Wednesday, February 27. |
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| Forty-four year-old Leslie Lewis and his seven children of Gregory Park, St. Catherine are all smiles as they proudly accept the keys to their new home from Social Outreach Manager at Food For The Poor (FFP) Jamaica, Marcia Hall-Walker, during a presentation ceremony last Wednesday, February 27. Looking on is Deacon Bryan Ott (left), Campus Minister, of St. Joseph Academy United States. |
Within five hours, the structure was
complete and the recipients presented with the keys to their new
home, furniture, clothing, toys, personal care items and school
supplies. “Words are not enough to say what this gift means to us
as a family.” said the emotional 44-year-old father, Leslie
Lewis, “They (SJA) came and saw our situation and decided to do
something about it by giving us a more comfortable and secure
home…they never had to do this for us. I am so thankful,”
Prior to the intervention of SJA and
FFP Jamaica, Mr. Lewis lived in a deteriorating, one-room concrete
structure with his seven children, ages 16, 15, 13, 7, 5 and 1 (twin
boys). The structure was no more than 20 feet long and 8 feet
wide and was without sanitation. The family of eight shared
three beds.
An occasional taxi operator, Mr. Lewis
tried desperately to provide for his family but as he explained, “I
could not afford to build a better home for us, especially when my
wife died in 2012 after giving birth to the twin boys. Both my
wife and I wanted to give our children a more comfortable home,
especially for my two eldest children, both females, who needed their
own space and privacy.”
Thanks to the students and Food For The
Poor, Mr. Lewis’ dream has become a reality. “Now my
children can have a home that they can be proud of,” declared Mr.
Lewis. Building homes for the poor in Jamaica has always been part of
the mission of St. Joseph Academy. According to the Campus
Minister, Deacon Bryan Ott, the Academy has been partnering with FFP
for the past 13 years and each mission trip involves building homes
for the destitute.
“A group of students met the family
in January of this year and we decided to channel our fundraising
efforts towards building a home for them because the need was
obvious. We continue to partner with FFP because it’s always
a fulfilling experience to be able to improve the lives of the less
fortunate and we are indeed happy to have assisted Mr. Lewis and his
children,” Deacon Ott said.
He further explained
“some of the students in this group are coming for the first time
while others are repeat participants. However, one thing is
true for all of us; we always leave feeling as if we have received
far more than we have given to the beneficiaries.” Social
Outreach Manager at Food For The Poor Jamaica, Marcia Hall-Walker,
said that the Charity’s aim is to foster transformation as
participants get the opportunity to participate in the work and
interact with the poor face to face. “Today’s project was a
life changing experience for all the participants and we are happy to
have shared in this occasion with SJA in providing a home for the
Lewis family. We encourage corporate Jamaica to join us in this
mission as we help one person, one family at a time,” she added.
Since its inception 30 years ago, Food
For The Poor has provided in excess of 22, 000 Jamaicans with
comfortable and secure housing. In 2012, a total of 1,166
houses were built for the poor.
-End-
Food For The Poor
(FFP)-Jamaica is the largest charity organization in the
country. Food For The Poor Inc., located in Florida, USA, was
named by The Chronicle of Philanthropy as the
largest international relief and development organization in
the United States. It is an interdenominational Christian agency that
does much more than feed the millions of hungry poor in 17 countries
of the Caribbean and Latin America. FFP provides emergency relief
assistance, clean water, medicines, educational materials, homes,
support for orphans and the aged, skills training and
micro-enterprise development assistance, with more than 96% of all
donations going directly to programmes that help the poor. For more
information visit our Web site at www.foodforthepoorja.com
_______________________________________________________________
Contact:
Erica
James-King|PROComm l (876) 564-5277 or (876) 926-6740
Erica.James-King@procomm.com.jm
Petri-Ann Henry |
Food For The Poor Jamaica I (876) 564-2886 or (876) 907-3664 |
petri-annh@foodforthepoorja.org
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